Return of the Heartless
by Anime-17
Summary: Trouble strikes the island again. Will Sora and his friends be able to destroy the powerful heartless and their master? (a little SoraKairi in some parts and at the end) COMPLETE! Please R&R!
1. Everyday Life

Author's note: Hey, everybody! This is my first fic, so I hope you like it!!! (Keep in mind that I started writing this before I finished the game) Happy reading! Anime17

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 1 Everyday Life**

_Sora, Kairi, and Riku's island was finally back to the way it was, all the worlds had been rejuvenated with life, and the heartless beings had been destroyed. Or, so everyone thought...A new journey was about to begin...._

"You'll never be able to beat us, Kairi. Remember last time? We left you in the dust," Riku told her.

"Well, now I'm sixteen. I'm probably a lot faster than you think."

Riku called to Sora, who was sitting on the bridge.

"Sora! Come here! Kairi wants to race!"

"What? She doesn't have a chance!"

"I heard that!" Kairi had been listening.

"Well, it's true," said Sora when he came by them.

"So, how many times around the island this time?"

"Two," Kairi answered confidentally.

Sora was surprised, "Sure you can do it?"

"Of course...On your marks..."

Everyone was in position.

"Get set.......GO!!!"

Sora and Riku were already ahead of Kairi after the first time around.

"She knows she won't catch up," Riku told Sora.

"Don't be so sure," Sora glanced over his shoulder, "She's not far behind."

"Huh?" Riku looked behind and saw Kairi only a few feet away, "...She _has _gotten faster!"

"Hey, guys!" yelled Kairi, "Ready to give up?"

"Not a chance!" Sora exclaimed.

A couple minutes later, the finish line was in sight, and Kairi was still close.

"Looks like we'll still beat her," knew Riku.

Just then, out of nowhere, Kairi was running next to them.

"What!" Riku didn't want to lose to a girl.

"See ya!" Kairi barely got in front and won with Riku and Sora only a foot away.

"Told you so," she bragged.

Riku sighed, "You got lucky."

"Maybe she's been practicing," thought Sora, "We haven't raced in a while."

Kairi smiled, "That's true...We Should race again tomorrow!"

"NO!!!" Sora and Riku shouted in unison and walked away.

Kairi asked, "What?...C'mon, guys!"

"I love being on vacation," Goofy told Donald.

"You know it," he agreed.

They had flown to Hawaii (in the Lilo and Stich world) on their gummi ship for a week-long break.

"Yep. This is the life," Goofy lie back in his chair.

"No duties to do, no orders...Aaaaah!" Something stood in front of him, staring.

"Ish ta meesstah..."

Donald was puzzled, "Excuse me?"

"Nana creeshta!"

"Who are you?"

"My name Stich."

"Stich! Where are you?" a little girl called out.

Stich pointed to her, "Lilo...family. Ohana."

"There you are!" Lilo exclaimed, "Why are you bothering these people?...I mean duck and...something else."

"Oh, he's not bothering us," said Goofy.

"Yes he is!" disagreed Donald.

"C'mon, Stich!" Lilo ordered, "Let's go."

"But..."

"We need to give Pudge a peanut butter sandwich. Remember...my fish?"

"Fish?" Donald questioned.

"Hurry!!! I'll be late for hula class again!" Lilo pulled Stich in another direction.

"Who was that?" thought Goofy.

Donald corrected him, "Don't you mean _what_ was that?"

"Uh, I guess."

"Goofy...what time is it?"

"My watch says 1:30. Why you askin'?"

"Isn't it a little dark for the afternoon? The sky was brighter than this two minutes ago."

"Huh?" Goofy looked up.

Just then, the sky turned into black in only a matter of seconds.

"Something's going on," Donald knew, "Something _wrong_."

"Let's get back on the gummi ship. Maybe we can find out..."

Author's note: Well, that's my first chapter. I know, it was a little boring, but it's just the introduction. The best is yet to come! I'll get the next chapter up ASAP :)


	2. Trouble Strikes

Author's note: Finally, Chap. 2 is up! This is a good one, so have fun reading!!!

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 2 Trouble Strikes**

Sora lay on his bed looking at his keyblade, which was laying on the floor. He had kept it...just in case. He looked out his window. The sky was pitch black.

"How could it be dark_ now_?" he wondered, "...That's weird..."

Several bright lights began to fall from the sky. Sora ran out his door and out of his house to take a look. Outside, Kairi stood on the beach.

"Kairi! What's going on?"

"I don't know. Do you think..."

"It couldn't be..."

"Guys!" Riku had also come out, "What's the matter?"

"Riku...I think it's happening," said Sora.

"What?"

"The door. It's been opened again."

"But how?" Kairi wondered, "...How could it happen _again_?"

"That's what we need to find out," Sora started running toward his house, "Follow me!"

When they got inside, Sora grabbed his keyblade and asked Riku, "Do you still have your sword?"

"Right here."

They peeked out Sora's window and a heartless came up to it. It kept hitting the glass, trying to get in. Kairi shivered. She hated seeing one of those awful creatures again.

"Should we go back outside and fight?" asked Riku.

"I don't think that---"Sora didn't finish, for the heartless had broken the window. Many others were coming in also.

"Kairi, stay back! Riku and I can handle this!" Sora told her.

They began attacking, trying to make the black figures not get by Kairi. Once all of them were destroyed, more kept entering, and some up through the floor.

"They're going to keep multiplying!" Riku knew.

"Aaaaaah!" screamed Kairi. A heartless had come up from the ground and was holding on to her leg.

Sora swung at the heartless, which went back into the floor. All of the others went back under, too.

"Did they just...disappear?" Kairi stood still, still frozen in terror.

"I don't know. But, maybe they went back out...waiting for us," concluded Riku.

"Well, maybe we should go. You could beat them, couldn't you?"

"Of course."

Sora thought for a moment, "It could be a trap."

"What do you mean?" pondered Kairi.

"They could...you know...Oh, never mind. It's nothing."

"Wait! Sora might be right! They're all on the beach...but I don't see anything else. Whatever, or whoever, is hiding...is definitely waiting for something," Riku said when he looked outside.

So, after Riku spoke, everyone stayed inside. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes passed. The heartless grew impatient.

"Oh, no!" Kairi peeked out again, "Where are they?"

"They've went to their leader," Sora concluded.

"How do you know?" Riku glanced at him, "They could've gone anywhere."

They waited...and waited.....and waited.......

Kairi felt relieved, "They probably left."

Just when she finished, the earth beneath them quivered.

"I'm not so sure about that!" knew Sora, "They're _still_ here!"

"We need to get out of here!" yelled Riku.

"That's a good idea!" Sora had to raise his voice so they could hear him over the howling wind, "..._How_?"

Then, a tentacle suddenly broke through the wooden floor. Two more broke through on opposite sides of the room.

"What is this thing?...It must be their leader!" Riku realized.

"I told you!" Sora held on to his keyblade tightly. Another tentacle came out behind him.

Riku saw and warned, "Sora! Look out!"

Sora turned around, and was prepared to attack. But, before he had the chance, a tentacle knocked the keyblade out of his hands. The one next to Sora wrapped around him, the slimy, green skin squeezing harder.

"Let go of me!" he shouted.

A tentacle, as it slinked toward Kairi, touched one of Sora's mom's flowers, making it wilt instantly.

"They're poisonous!" she told Riku.

"Get away from it!"

"I know, but they're everywhere!...Wait! What about Sora? If they _are _poisonous, then....." Kairi feared for the worst.

"Oh, no!" Riku ran over to Sora with his sword ready to strike the coil around him. When he did, the tentacle wasn't affected by the blow, "Nothing will work!"

Sora struggled, trying to get out, "The grip's too tight!"

Kairi was closed in by some tentacles and heartless. She couldn't do anything, "_Someone_, help!"

All of a sudden, a bright light flashed, and she held a long whip.

"What's this?" Kairi saw it spark at the end, "Hmmm..." she swung it at the heartless, destroying all of them in seconds, "Cool!"

"Sora! I can't get you out! Now what?" Riku panicked.

"I'm not...sure..." the poison was taking affect sooner than they had thought, "...Help...Kairi....."

"What about you?"

Sora didn't answer.

"Sora!...Sora!!!"

Kairi attacked the tentacles one after another, but nothing worked. She swung and struck twice as hard, and the monster underground shrieked. The tentacles went back under, and Sora was pulled under with them.

Kairi cried out, "No!...Riku, what should we do?"

"We can't do anything..."

Author's note: Where did Sora go? What are Kairi and Riku going to do about it? You'll have to find out in the next chapter!


	3. Danger Awaits

Author's note: Chap. 3 is up! Enjoy!!!

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 3 Danger Awaits**

Donald and Goofy had exited the world looking for the cause of the blackout.

"I don't see anything. Do you, Goofy?"

"Nope."

"Hmmm...Maybe we should fly around to see if any other world has been affected."

They piloted around for a while passing many worlds, but couldn't find anything unusual.

"Oh, well," Donald shrugged, "I don't think we can find what caused the sky to turn so dark all of a sudden."

"Look! There's Sora's world. We could go visit him."

"Hey! Do you see that?" he pointed to an island covered in a thick, black, cloudy smoke, "Now that's peculiar. We should---Huh?"

Another ship was headed for them and started shooting lasers.

"Is that a heartless ship?" Goofy was surprised, "But I thought..."

"Who cares if it is or not! We need to find somewhere safe!...Ah ha! Traverse Town is the perfect place."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

_Back at the island..._

"This is not good!" Riku paced back and forward, "Where could the heartless and...whatever that was go?"

"Who knows?" Kairi was sitting with her head down, "I just hope....."

"Yeah, I know. Sora should be allright...I think..."

"How could he be?...It's hopeless..." she began to cry.

"Oh, buck up already. We need to find a way to get to another world."

"Maybe we could..." Kairi paused, ".....Is it just me...or is that a tornado heading in this direction?"

Riku looked, "Oh...great."

The distance between them and the twister grew shorter.

"What are we standing around here for?"

Riku and Kairi ran as fast as their legs could carry them, sprinting for their lives. The wind blew faster and faster. The trees behind them were being pulled out by the roots. Millions of debris blew in circles, drawing nearer and nearer. The tornado's fury was intense, and it's speed was too fast for them.

"We'll never make it!" Kairi gave up hope.

"We still might have a chance! We just have to-"

BAM! Riku was hit by a large piece of debris, knocking him out cold.

"Riku!...Oh, no!"

Soon, both of them were picked up by the swirling storm.

_Sora opened his eyes..._His head felt a swelling pain and he couldn't move anything. When he looked around, he saw a large brick room with a slimy, damp, mossy floor.

_Where am I? _he wondered. Ropes were tied around his arms, legs and neck. _I wish I knew where my keyblade was..._Sora heard a door open.

A small heartless peeked in and made a high- pitched shrieking sound to someone, or something behind it.

The wooden door slammed open, and a tall, black, mysterious creature entered. A couple of heartless followed. It walked closer to Sora, who was trying to get out, but it was no use. The creature stared at him, examining.

After a few moments, Sora asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The large shadow stood back, seeming surprised to hear Sora speak. It talked to the others in a crackling voice, and they ran out. It held out a long, black, sparking sword. Sora gulped. The creature untied him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him out into the hall. Sora dreaded what would happen next.

On their way to another area, all of the heartless they passed began to head in the same direction. They entered and arena, surrounded by many different types of heartless in the audience. In the middle of the floor stood another black figure, holding another sword. The crowd cried out in delight as Sora neared the center.

_This can't be good..._Sora panicked. He knew what was coming. Surrounding the middle of the floor were heartless guards. Sora noticed one of them, _He's holding my keyblade!_

The heartless holding Sora shoved him toward the other one in the center. Sora stood still, refusing to move any closer. The tall figure behind him put his sword to Sora's back so he would move forward. Reluctantly, Sora approached slightly. The heartless grew impatient, and Sora was knocked to the ground. When he looked up, a shock sword was raised, and the audience cheered. The blade began coming down.....

Author's note: What's going to happen to Sora? What happened to Riku and Kairi? The answers will be revealed in Chap. 4 :)


	4. The Mysterious Box

Author's note: Your patience has been rewarded! Chap. 4 up!!!

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 4 The Mysterious Box**

"Riku...wake up...Riku," Kairi shook him, "C'mon, get up already!"

"What?...Where are we?"

"I think we're in Traverse Town. Are you okay?"

"Uh...my head hurts..."

"You were hit pretty hard."

"Yeah, maybe we should look around a little."

They started walking around, but didn't see anyone.

"That's weird," said Riku.

"I know. Last time I was here, this place was swarming with people."

They opened the door to the Second District, but still didn't see any sign of civilization.

"Where is everybody?" Kairi began to worry.

"The heartless must've come here."

"That's not good."

They heard a whirling sound behind them and a boss heartless stood there.

"What is that thing?" Kairi stared at it.

"Don't worry. I'm think we can handle it..."

"Are you sure?"

"You'll need us," a voice said, "That's a Guard Armor, one of the most powerful heartless."

"Who's there?" asked Riku.

Then, Donald and Goofy appeared.

"We can help," said Goofy.

Kairi smiled, "Hey, thanks."

The Guard Armor came nearer, and they all attacked at once. The heartless spun around violently, using its whirlwind attack, hitting all of them.

"Ouch!" cried Kairi, "Does it have to hit so hard?"

"C'mon, Kairi. Don't be a wimp," Riku told her. She stared at him coldly.

Donald and Goofy used their magic, and the Guard Armor's arms and legs came off.

"Hurry! Destroy them!" yelled Donald.

Kairi and Riku did, and then everyone struck at the heartless' body. It vanished, leaving a box behind.

"I wonder what's in it," Goofy pondered.

"I can't open it. It's locked," Riku gave up.

"By the way," Donald wondered, "Where's Sora? We thought he would be with you."

"Not exactly...he-" Kairi was interrupted.

"We don't know where he is," Riku finished.

"I can show you," the box spoke.

Everyone was in shock.

"...if you find my key," it continued.

Everybody looked at the head of the Guard Armor. It was shaking. All of a sudden, it exploded, and the box did, too. On the floor now was a little screen. It had a green button. Goofy pushed it in curiosity.

"What would you wish to see?" it asked.

Kairi thought for a moment, then spoke, "We would like to see where Sora is..."

The screen jolted, and it showed a picture of an arena with heartless surrounding it. Sora was in the middle, and a sword was above him, ready to strike. Kairi closed her eyes...

Author's note: Next chapter will come SOON ï 


	5. Not as it Seems

Author's note: I'm happy! Chap. 5 up!!! This is a goodie!

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 5 Not as it Seems**

Sora gasped as the blade came down...He got out of the way just before it hit the ground. The guards ran toward him, and he was surrounded.

_Oh, great...What did I get myself into?_

They were crowding in on Sora, when the heartless that had his keyblade threw it to him. Sora didn't have a clue why that guard just helped him, but shrugged it off.

Sora attacked the heartless holding swords over and over. They swung back. The audience got out of their seats, jumping into the arena to help. Something grabbed Sora and pulled him toward the exit. Both of them ran as fast as they could, and outside the doors was a portal. They jumped into it, and in a few seconds found themselves in another world.

"Thanks...for your help," said Sora.

"You're welcome."

"You...You talk?"

"Yeah, so?"

Sora was confused, "...Ok.....never mind. Why did you help me?"

"I can't answer that. My bosses orders."

"You have a leader?"

"Yes."

"Who is it? Who are you?"

"I can't answer those either. Come. Take you to her."

"Your boss?"

"Yes, follow."

Sora decided to go with the being. It would be okay since it saved his life, right?...He took a look around as they walked. _This world looks familiar...But, what one is it?_

They went through a forest for miles, seeing nothing else in sight.

"How much further?"

"Not long now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. A clearing near soon."

An hour later, Sora grew impatient, "You said it wouldn't take long."

"Leader only minute away," it pointed. Sora saw a tall castle in the distance.

"Wait a minute!" Sora knew something was wrong, "Is that where she is?"

"Yes, friend. She there. We go."

"But, isn't that..."

"You know boss?"

"Maybe...Do you know...Maleficant?"

"Yes, indeed. She need you now."

Sora trembled. _She _had come back.

"I...think I should go..." Sora wanted to leave.

"No. Stay. She make you one of us. She want you."

"No! She can't!"

"Oh, she will..."

Heartless, and many of Maleficant's creatures and guards, leaped out of the trees.

The heartless snickered, "We've been expecting you."

Guards jumped on Sora, who got a hold of his keyblade. It was now in their grasp. Sora could do nothing. Creatures threw chains around him and locked them tight. All of them forced Sora to the ground, and the guard heartless walked up to him.

Sora felt betrayed, "You lied to me! How could you?"

"All in a day's work. Maleficant will be pleased seeing you."

"Then why? Why did you save me?"

"Maleficant wanted to turn you into a heartless herself..."

The guards tightened the chains, more and more.

"Make sure he doesn't escape."

Maleficant's creatures pulled on the chains harder, till Sora couldn't speak. One of them gagged him, and the betrayer held a bottle in front of his face.

"Say goodbye..."

Out sprayed a nauseating liquid, making Sora feel queasy. Then all went black.

"Hurry up you fools! Drag him to her now! We're only minutes away!"

Author's note: That was a good one! Anyway, next chap. ASAP :)


	6. To the Rescue!

Author's note: Thank you for all your reviews! Here's the next part...

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 6 To the Rescue!**

Meanwhile, Goofy, Donald, Kairi, and Riku had realized what world Sora was in. They had rode on the gummi and landed only yards away from Sora and the heartless guard. The screen now showed him being ambushed, then it was blank.

"Oh, great! Now we can't see what's happening!" exclaimed Riku.

"We can at least try to find him," Donald thought.

"Let's start looking over there!" Kairi pointed to a path near the castle.

They walked until they could see Sora and the creatures in the distance.

"There they are!" shouted Kairi, "C'mon, let's catch up!"

Everyone ran toward them. Maleficant's castle was very close.

"Hurry!" Riku encouraged.

A creature was about to open the castle drawbridge, when it was struck by Donald's blizzard attack. Kairi electricuted some heartless with her whip, and the creatures yelped and screamed.

Goofy and Donald destroyed the guards with their magic and Riku attacked Maleficant's creatures that had dragged Sora the whole way. The rest of the beings fled in panic. Donald melted Sora's chains with his fire spell.

"Sora, are you okay? Speak to me!" Riku shook him.

"He can't..." a voice said. A black shadow stood before them. It was the heartless that had helped Sora in the arena, "...I gave him a knockout spray. He won't awaken for quite some time. As for you..." it disappeared, and the drawbridge was opening.

"Let's get out of here!" yelled Goofy.

"To the ship!" Donald told them.

They carried Sora and ran as fast as they could to the ship. Everyone got in, and the engine roared. They took off before any heartless could catch up.

"Where's somewhere safe?" wondered Kairi.

"Let's see," Donald looked at the map, 'We could go back to our kingdom. I'm sure the heartless haven't struck there yet."

"How long from here?" Riku asked.

"Maybe and hour or so," Goofy answered, "...I sure hope Sora will be all right."

_Later..._

When Sora awoke, everything was a blur, _What is this place? I must be dreaming..._

"Sora?..Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"That must've been some strong stuff they gave you."

Sora could now see more clearly, "Kairi?...Am I glad to see you!"

"Me, too. Riku and I are both safe. Goofy and Donald are both here, too. Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay."

"We're heading to the king's castle. I'm positive it's safe enough."

There was a pause.

Sora thought for a moment, "...It's been so long since you came to our island..., and you still haven't seen your hometown yet..."

"You're right...I've never thought about it."

"Maybe we could go visit it sometime soon."

"Maybe...You know, it's weird, how we've been to many worlds, but never where I used to live."

"Yeah, it is."

"Yeah.....Remember the day before...'you know what' happened?"

"Of course. Why?"

"Well, when we talked before then...and I said 'don't ever change'..."

"...Yeah?"

"Well, I...really meant it."

"Huh?"

Riku called to them, "Hey, guys! We're here!"

"We better get going, Sora..."

"But, what about..." Sora didn't finish. When he looked where they had landed, all he saw was pitch black.

"What...happened?" Kairi was awestruck.

"Maybe I was wrong," confessed Donald, "Looks like the heartless have come here..."

"Let's go check it out," Riku suggested, "Sora, here's your keyblade...just in case."

"I definitely think I'll need it."

Author's note: It might take a while for the next chapter to come up, but I will get it as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!


	7. Home Sweet Home?

Author's note: Sorry it took so long to get this one up. I have been really busy lately. Anyway, enjoy!

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 7 Home Sweet Home?**

"This sure doesn't look like home," Goofy said when they made it to the castle.

"Well, we can't get inside," Riku told them, "It's locked."

Donald looked inside a window but saw nothing, "That's weird..."

They heard a voice in the distance, "Hurry, get out of here! The heartless are coming!" Someone was running in their direction. She had a terrified look on her face.

"Who's she?" Sora wondered.

The girl stopped, trying to catch her breath.

"What's the matter?" Kairi was concerned, "Are you ok?"

"They...tried to attack me...I ran away...screaming for help."

Donald thought, "Looks like the heartless are multiplying. They are now much bigger in numbers."

"But I thought the worlds were locked," Sora remembered.

"Yeah..." Kairi thought a while, "Maybe there are more worlds that haven't been discovered yet."

"But how could they get to our world, and this one, if Sora already locked them?" asked Riku.

"Uh...guys..."

"Goofy, not now. We're trying to figure this out," Donald told him.

"But..."

"Goofy! Stop!"

"Look!" the girl shouted, "They're here!"

Heartless were closing in from every direction.

"That's what I saw, Donald!" Goofy explained.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" he questioned.

"Stop arguing already! What do we do now?" Sora wondered.

"We need to get inside!" knew Riku.

"Uh, Sora..." Kairi remembered something, "Can't you use magic with your keyblade?"

"Yeah...But why don't we just break a window?"

"Good point...they'll still be able to come in."

"I just need to cover it with an ice shield. It'll be easy..."

_Later, when Sora had blocked the window, everyone ran to the basement and shut the door._

"That should keep them out," said Sora.

Just then they heard breaking glass and many shrieking and shrilling noises.

"...or not..."

"Well, guys," Kairi gulped, "It's been nice noin' ya..."

"C'mon, Kairi. Don't be a wimp," Riku laughed.

"Besides, don't you think we could beat these guys?" Goofy wondered.

"Of, course!" Donald felt confident.

They opened the door and ran up the stairs.

As they ran through the hall toward the main room, Sora told them, "This will be a piece of.....cake..." he had frozen in his tracks.

Before them stood a seven-story dragon heartless.

"I spoke too soon."

Author's note: Hope you liked it. My next chap. will come really soon because I already started writing it. Until then, have a great day!


	8. The Monster

Author's note: Next chapter, written quickly just like I promised

(A teeny tiny bit of SoraKairi...Yea!!!)

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 8 The Monster**

The beast roared with all its might.

"What now?" Goofy was quivering in fright.

"Attack!" shouted Donald. He ran forward and Goofy followed.

"Hey, not a bad idea...for a duck," Riku admitted.

Kairi took out her whip, "You guys ready, or what?"

"I'm ready for anything!" Sora replied. They joined Goofy and Donald, who had already started using their magic.

Kairi and Riku struck the dragon's legs, but it didn't notice and started spewing fire in every direction. Sora used his Gravity spell, but that didn't stop the monster at all.

"Our magic has no affect on it!" Sora realized.

"Not even Freeze!" included Donald. The fire was blown again.

"Look out!" Riku cried.

Everyone hit the deck just in time.

"How on earth are we going to stop it?" interrogated Kairi.

"We're gonners!" exclaimed Goofy.

"Yeah, Kairi and I can't even make it flinch!" Riku agreed.

They stood up and looked the heartless in the eye. They knew they were going to face their doom anyway.....but Sora thought differently, _There has to be some way..._

When it roared again, fire flew toward Kairi.

"No!" Sora ran in front, using Blizzard, and the fire disappeared, "Hey, Donald! Goofy! Help me out!"

The three stood ready. When the dragon opened its mouth, they attacked. It stumbled for a moment, then turned into ice and exploded. Pieces of ice flew in various directions.

"We did it!" Goofy was excited.

Kairi walked over to Sora.

"Sora..." she began.

"...Yeah?"

"Um...thanks," she slightly kissed Sora on the cheek, and he turned bright red. Riku laughed.

"Stop it! What's so funny?" Sora was really embarrassed, but slightly smiled.

Author's note: How was it? Sorry if I didn't know the "exact" name of the spells. I'm not sure what they are. I'm sorry it was such a short chapter, but I have a brain block at the moment. But, don't worry, I'll think of the next part soon, hopefully. Anime17

SoraKairi 4 ever!!! (more 2 come...hee hee)


	9. Kairi's Dream

Author's note: I'm sorry this chapter is really short, but I promise the next one will be a lot longer!!!...I really do…..

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 9 Kairi's Dream**

"Why did the heartless all go away?" wondered Donald.

"Maybe they were worried that we would've destroyed them. I mean, we _did _defeat the dragon," Riku reminded.

"That's right…" Kairi stopped, "But, where do all of them disappear to?"

"Hmmm…" Goofy thought to himself for a moment.

"Probably to Maleficant," concluded Sora, "and-"

"What!?!" Kairi interrupted, "…She's alive?"

"I'm afraid so…I just wonder how she could have…come back to life…" he was puzzled.

"That is a hard question," Riku couldn't figure out why either.

Silence hovered in the air for a long time until Donald spoke.

"So, where to next?" while he was piloting he took out a map and pointed to worlds nearby.

Goofy looked at it, "We could go to Traverse Town and stock up on supplies."

"That's a good idea. We are low on potions and ethers," said Riku.

"Sounds good to me," Donald was about to push the warp speed button.

"Wait!" Sora stopped him, "Do you see what I see?"

"I've never seen that world before. I might have been right about the worlds that no one has explored…and this is most definitely one of them," spoke Kairi.

"We should go check it out," suggested Sora.

"NO!" exclaimed Donald.

"Why not?"

"It looks too dangerous. We shouldn't risk it."

"C'mon, Donald, let's not start this again!"

"Well…"

The gummi ship shook violently.

"What was that?" Sora looked out the window, "It's the heartless!"

"There are too many ships. What now? We're out of lasers!" Riku told them.

"Donald, do something!" shouted Goofy.

"What?!? We can't escape!"

They were hit with a crushing blow, and all of the electricity turned off.

"Great! No power!" Kairi cried.

The ship shook again and spun in circles. It hurtled toward the unknown world, everyone screaming all the way down…..

_Kairi stood in a large room, greatly lit by a chandelier…_

_She couldn't budge an inch. Somebody was walking on the other side, and seemed to be looking for somebody…It was Sora; he was calling out Riku and Kairi's name. Then, two heartless came out of the floor and stood behind him. Sora turned around, and they knocked him to the ground. _

_All of a sudden, a dark figure blocked Kairi's view. She couldn't see what was happening. Someone…or something…chuckled. Kairi screamed._

She woke up, finding herself in a mountainous area covered with snow. Kairi shivered. The snow didn't stop falling.

_Where is everyone?..._"Sora! Riku! Goofy! Donald!" she had absolutely no idea where anybody was, or what world they had crashed on…she was alone…..

Author's note: Hope you enjoyed that chappie! I might be able to have the next one up soon, but I'm not sure because of Thanksgiving.


	10. The New World

Author's note: Thanks for being so patient everyone! The internet didn't work the last time I tried to get on and Thanksgiving was also quite busy. Anyway, I promised a **much** longer chapter then the previous one, and here it is.

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 10 The New World**

Kairi walked around, searching for the others. Then, she saw someone walking in her direction. It was Riku and Sora!

"We're glad to see you're ok, Kairi," said Riku.

"Did you see Donald or Goofy?" Sora asked, "We've been looking everywhere for them."

"No…we should keep searching," Kairi suggested, even though she was freezing cold.

They walked for miles, still not seeing any signs of Goofy or Donald. They couldn't find the gummi ship either.

"We're definitely lost," concluded Sora, "There's no way we'll find them."

"Stop being so pessimistic," Riku told him.

Kairi stopped walking, "Did you guys hear that?"

"What?"

Sora paused a moment, "I do hear something…"

It sounded like an explosion. The noise was coming from behind them, and they ran in that direction. Over the hill of snow was an appalling sight. A war was taking place.

On the ground exploding cannons were being shot. People on the mountains were shooting arrows. Suddenly, flaming ones were falling toward the opposite side. They ran for cover, and the cannons in a wagon were being set off. Hooves were clattering, and the men on their steeds were headed in Sora, Kairi, and Riku's way.

"Let's get out of here!" Kairi said in panic.

The flaming arrows were getting nearer also. The horses galloped faster. The army stopped, taking shelter under the crevice of a rock.

Riku thought, "Let's go there, too! We don't want to be shot with arrows, do we?"

Sora agreed, "Let's hurry!"

When they reached safety, someone asked, "Who are you?...You guys can't be from China. Where are you from?"

"Um…" Sora studdered, "We're…from another world."

"Another world?"

"Yes, this is Riku and Kairi, and my name's Sora…"

"Sora?" a voice repeated. A tiny dragon popped out behind the soldier.

"Mushu?" Sora realized. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here protecting Mul-"

"The name's Ping."

"It's nice to meet you, um…Ping," Kairi shook his hand.

"Ping?" Riku thought, _That's a weird name…_

There was a sudden silence. The men on the mountain were no longer there. No one spoke a word. Then, at the top of the snowy hill, there was a man on his horse. Many others soon stood behind. Thousands of soldiers shouted in revenge.

"Shan Yu's army…" Ping said in amazement.

"Oh, great. This can't be good," Riku knew.

Shan Yu slapped the horse with his sword and he led his army down the mountain.

"C'mon, men!" the captain yelled, "If we die…we die with honor."

"We only have one cannon left," another soldier said.

"Aim it at Shan Yu."

Ping thought for a moment, _There must be a better way…_

"We're gonners!" Kairi said.

Just then, Ping told Mushu, "I have an idea. C'mon!" he grabbed the last cannon, running up the hill.

"What's he doing? Is he crazy?" Riku was confused.

"We have to go help him! He won't make it alone," Sora said to them, "Let's go!"

They ran to catch up with Ping, but he had a head start. They wouldn't catch up in time.

Mushu asked, "What's the plan?"

Ping stopped and pushed the cannon into the snow. He pointed it toward a mountain nearby, "Mushu, hurry! Light it!"

"Are you insane?"

"Just do it!"

Shan Yu was galloping closer.

_We're running out of time!_ Ping thought, "Now!"

Mushu blew with all his might. The cannon launched out just as Shan Yu was right in front of them. The mountain shook and snow came tumbling down.

"Avalanche!" someone cried.

Ping smiled. It had worked! But, Shan Yu didn't look too happy. Ping was getting up to run, and Shan Yu swung his sword. Ping got up, running for his life.

Just as the avalanche started, Sora, Riku, and Kairi stopped in their tracks.

"Oh, my…word," Kairi was in shock, "Not good…"

"Run for it!" Sora commanded.

Ping ran past them, and they followed.

He yelled, "Hurry! Behind the rock!"

The advancing avalanche grew near. Soon, Shan Yu and his army were buried in snow.

Everyone took shelter behind the stone just inches from the tumbling inferno.

Ping blew a sigh of relief as the last of the snow fell off the cliff, "Glad that's over."

"Same here," agreed Riku.

"Ditto…" Sora paused, "Wait…Where's Kairi?" he began to worry.

"Wasn't she right behind us?"

"No…" Sora ran up the hill, "Kairi!...Kairi where are you?!?"

Author's note: Sorry about the cliffhanger ending! I won't keep you in suspense very long, trust me. Until then, see ya!


	11. A Hidden Identity

Author's note: Hey, welcome back! Betcha you're wondering what will happen next, right? Well, you don't have to wait any longer…

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 11 A Hidden Identity**

Sora cried out, "Kairi!...Kairi!"

Later, he felt something under his foot. Pushing away the snow, Sora found Kairi's hand.

"She's buried!" he frantically tried digging her out, until most of her was visible. Sora picked her up, tears rolling down his cheeks, "Kairi! Speak to me!.....No! She can't go!.....She can't…I won't let her!" Sora held her close to him and wept bitterly, "…No…"

There was a long pause. Then…a voice said, "…Sora?"

Sora opened his eyes in disbelief, "Kairi! You're ok!" he gave her a hug, but suddenly pulled away, "Kairi…..you're so cold…Are you all right?"

"Sora, I'm ok, don't worry…"

Sora picked Kairi up and carried her toward the others. The soldiers were talking to each other.

Some said, "Let's go make the tent.", "Get the medical assistant…", or "He's hurt, we need help…"

Ping had been wounded in the battle and everyone was concerned.

Sora looked at Kairi and asked, "You ok?"

She nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

He put her down and they went to help everyone else with Ping.

_Later…_

Everyone stood outside the tent where Ping was being cared for. The soldiers' heads were bowed down, and no one spoke a word. Nobody had come out of the tent for half an hour. Something was wrong.

"I'm worried…" Kairi told the others, "I sure hope he'll be okay soon."

"He was barely wounded…a slightly deep cut there…" said the doctor when he finally stepped outside, "But…" he motioned for the captain to come inside.

Sora saw Mushu's face fill with terror, "What's wrong?"

"I knew this would happen," Mushu said to himself.

"You knew what?" asked Riku.

"Oh…it's bad…"

The Emperor's Council, a man with a tall, blue hat stepped in also. Seconds later, the captain stormed out, and the blue dressed man came out holding Ping by the arm.

"I knew there was something fishy," he tore off the band holding Ping's hair, "…A _woman_."

Everybody gasped.

"She lied to us," said Sora in disbelief, "…to everyone…"

"But why?" Riku wondered.

Ping was thrown onto the snowy, wet, slushy ground.

"My name is Mulan…" she said, "I did it to save my father. It was the only way!"

"Humph!...Captain?" Chee Fu crossed his arms, waiting for a reply.

The captain waited a moment, then took out a long sword.

"What are they doing?!?" Kairi pondered.

Mushu explained, "The law says no women are allowed in war. It's the ultimate dishonor. She'll be killed!"

"What!" Sora was in shock.

Mulan didn't move, accepting her fate. The sword was raised; everyone held their breath. It slashed down.

"Wait!" cried Sora. He had blocked the blow with his keyblade, "Why are you doing this?"

Everyone stared at him.

"What's he doing?" the soldiers whispered to each other.

"Think about it!" Sora tried to explain, "She didn't do anything wrong!"

"It's the law! She disobeyed it!" Chee Fu barked back.

The captain looked at Sora with a cold stare. But then he did something surprising. The sword was thrown to the ground and he walled in the opposite direction, everybody following. Chee Fu kept trying to make him change his mind, but was ignored.

"Thanks, Sora…" Mulan said, her voice a little shaky.

"You're welcome…" he put the keyblade on his shoulder, "…but you shouldn't have lied to us."

"Then…why did you save me?"

Sora just smiled. After a moment he answered, "You had a good reason."

She smiled back, "Well, I have to go home."

As she packed all her things up, Mushu looked down the mountain. He saw something unexpected, "Mulan! Mulan, check this out!"

Everyone else came over also. Walking toward the Emperor's palace was Shan Yu and some of his soldiers.

"Oh, great…" Kairi was surprised.

"What now?" Riku wondered.

"We need to go and stop them," Mulan said confidently.

"Oh, no…I can see where this is going," knew Mushu, "Now don't do anything stupid."

Mulan grabbed her sword and ordered, "Let's go save China!"

Mushu sighed, "Too late…"

Author's note: _Will_ they be able to save China and the emperor? You'll have to find out next time  (Next chapter's going to be a long one…Phew!)


	12. Battle at the Palace

Author's note: Sorry about the long wait. Chap. 12 now up:

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 12 Battle at the Palace**

When they arrived at the palace, there was no sign of Shan Yu or his men.

"Where are they? Shouldn't they be here by now?" Kairi was puzzled.

"Up there!" Sora pointed to the large flight of stairs. Shan Yu stood on the palace roof with sword in hand. His men grabbed the emperor and took him inside, guarding the doors. All of the town's audience gasped in horror. China's soldiers tried to get in, but it was no use.

"We need to go help!" Mulan told them.

"But how? _They_ can't even get in," reminded Riku.

Kairi smiled, "What do you mean, how? Of course we can help," she looked at Sora, "We have the keyblade, don't we?"

They ran up the steps and the soldiers were surprised to see Mulan.

"Mulan? What are you doing here!?!" the captain asked.

"We can help…trust me," she replied.

"Yeah, right."

Sora used his fire spell to break the latch open. He twirled the keyblade around his finger.

"Show off," said Riku to himself.

"Oh, you of little faith," Mulan looked at the captain with a smirk.

They stormed into the entrance, finding heartless everywhere.

"Great…" Kairi sighed.

"What are those things?" Mulan was curious.

"They're the heartless," answered Sora, "They track us down relentlessly."

"Heartless?...They're really creepy."

Everyone worked together, slashing and smashing every creature that came near them. Finally, all of them were gone. Down the hall was a larger door guarded by three of Shan Yu's best men.

"We can handle them," the captain told Mulan, "You help the emperor."

Mulan nodded.

Once the guards were distracted, Mulan, Sora, Kairi, and Riku ran to the emperor's rescue. He stood there motionless, Shan Yu's sword raised.

"Not so fast!" Sora shouted.

Shan Yu glanced at them.

Mulan held her her sword up, "You won't harm the emperor!"

Shan Yu's voice was cold and harsh, "Is that so?"

Then, they were grabbed by more soldiers, who held them by the arms. All their weapons were thrown to the floor.

"Such a pity," Shan Yu smiled a cruel smile, "You came all this way and you still haven't accomplished anything," he held his sword up to the emperor, "I'll still win."

"In your dreams!" a voice cried.

Shan Yu was forced to the ground, but got up quickly again, "What!"

Riku had barely escaped and struck Shan Yu with his sword. Shan Yu put his sword to Riku's. The emperor fled.

Shan Yu said, "You shouldn't have done that…Now you will face the consequences."

"Bring it on."

Soon, the were in the middle of an aggressive sword fight. Everyone else was still trying to get out of their _not so good _predicament.

"Do you think Riku can take him?" Kairi asked Mulan.

"I sure hope so…" she grimaced, "But it's not likely."

"We have to get free," Sora knew.

Mulan had forgotten something, "Mushu…Mushu," she whispered, "You still hiding?"

"Yeah."

"Think you can barbeque these guys for us?"

"No problem," he stood on her shoulder.

"Who's this?" one of the men asked, laughing.

"You're worst nightmare."

The others were now laughing, too. Then, Mushu took a deep breath; fire and flames flew out of his mouth. The soldiers were shocked. Mushu growled.

"Oh, boy," Mulan sighed.

All of the men didn't want to get burned, so they ran away.

"Nice going!" Mulan gave Mushu a high five, "But next time could you not growl. That was lame."

"What are you talking about?"

Mulan crossed her arms, "It doesn't make you sound ferocious at all."

"Those guys must've been _really _scared, then."

Meahwhile, Riku and Shan Yu were still going at it, unwilling to give in.

"I'm surprised I haven't beat you yet…But do you really think you'll win?"

"We'll see," Riku struck, but was blocked, and Shan Yu did the same. The same thing happened over and over again. All of a sudden, when Riku was about to attack, his sword started glowing, "What?"

His sword had turned into a keyblade. In fact, it was the exact one he had used when he turned to darkness.

"No…How?" Riku was speechless.

Shan Yu had his chance and swung at Riku with all his might. Riku had fallen on the ground, but the keyblade floated in mid air.

Author's note: Oh, great! The keyblade again! What will happen next? Find out in the upcoming chapter, Shan Yu's Shadow.


	13. Shan Yu's Shadow

Author's note: _Finally_, here is chap. 13. (wow, my fic's gettin' long!)

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 13 Shan Yu's Shadow**

The others were free by now and stared in horror and amazement.

"What is that? Mulan wondered.

"It's a keyblade that unlocks people's hearts," Sora explained.

"Huh?" Kairi pondered, "How do you know?"

"It's the one Riku had…back when Ansem controlled him…" Sora gasped, "That means…"

"Ansem is still…" Kairi didn't want to think about it.

"Uh, what's it doing?" Mulan pointed at the keyblade.

It started glowing brighter, and they all were speechless.

"This can't be good," Kairi was worried.

It flew at Shan Yu, and a thick, gray smoke surrounded him. The clouds of fog grew bigger and bigger, then disappeared. When the smoke settled, a shadow creature floated in front of them. A dark cloak was wrapped around it, and its yellow eyes stared at them in anger. A black hand with long, pointy fingers held Shan Yu's sword.

"Is that…him?" Mulan had never seen anything like this before.

"I don't know," Sora thought, "…If it is Shan Yu, he must've been consumed by the darkness of his heart."

"Well, what are we just standing here for?" asked Kairi, "Let's go get him!"

"Wait! Kairi, go see if Riku's all right. Mulan and I will do it," Sora told her.

"Sure you don't need me?"

"Not really…But…"

"You think it's too dangerous for me, don't you?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Ok, Sora…Whatever you say." Kairi really wanted to help, but did what he said. She went over to Riku, "Riku. Riku, you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so…" he tried to get up.

"C'mon, take it easy. You're hurt…"

"No, I'm fine…really…"

"You're not very good at faking, are you?"

"Apparently not…"

"I hope we can find some kind of help."

Meahwhile, Mulan and Sora began to fight the evil creature. It swung at them, over and over, never stopping.

"This isn't good…" Mulan worried.

"Just hit him!"

"I'm trying to, but he keeps blocking!"

The phantom swung toward Mulan but she counterattacked with her sword. They pushed their weapons more near each other, but the creature's sword grew closer every second.

"He's too strong!" she cried.

"Don't give up!" Sora encouraged her. Then, he used his triple fire attack. The shadow disappeared.

"Where is he?" wondered Mulan.

They looked at the exact spot where he had been, and there was a dense smoke rising from cracks in the ground.

Sora was confused, "That's odd…"

Suddenly he was struck from behind, and the black figure stood there.

"Sora!" shouted Mulan.

Sora lay flat on his back and opened his eyes. The sharp edged sword pointed straight at him.

Just then, a whip wrapped around the sword and pulled it from Shan Yu's grasp. Sora turned to look and there was Kairi.

"I guess you did need me," she swung her whip, trying to distract the shadow's glaring eyes.

Mulan attacked from behind and the creature screamed. Sora used thunder, then Kairi threw her whip at Shan Yu violently. He vanished in a puff of smoke, black ash falling to the ground.

_Later…_

"Thanks for everything," Mulan told everyone, "Now China is safe."

"We were just doing what we needed to do, I guess," said Kairi.

"I wish me and the others could repay you somehow."

"I think you've done quite enough for us," Riku reminded, "I mean, you helped me, you gave us a huge 'Thank you for saving China' party…"

"Yeah, I think we're good," Sora agreed, "We should probably be thanking you."

"Well, you can visit China any time," said the emperor.

"Thanks. Maybe we can come again," Kairi suggested to the others.

"But, now we should probably be going. We still haven't found Donald and Goofy yet," worried Sora.

"I hope I can see you again sometime," Mushu popped out from behind Mulan and stood on her shoulder.

"Me, too. Bye."

Everyone waved, and Riku, Kairi, and Sora walked toward the snowy and mountainous terrain.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The snow crunched beneath their feet as they looked for any signs of Goofy, Donald, or the gummi ship.

"Can you believe we've already been here for a day?" Kairi asked.

"…and Goofy and Donald still haven't showed up yet," Sora had a feeling something was going on.

"Hey, look! There's the ship!" cried Riku.

They ran over and went inside. It hadn't taken much damage from the crash.

"You think it could still fly, Sora?" questioned Riku.

"I'm pretty sure. Now we just need to-"

"Sora!..." Kairi stood near the control panel, holding up a note, "You should come see this."

"What is it?" he took the note and read it:

------------------------------------------------

_Help! The heartless have taken us to 1_

------------------------------------------------

"Oh, no…The heartless have them…" Sora didn't want to think about what would happen to them

"Where could they have gone?" wondered Kairi.

"Ok…it looks like they started a letter…but, what one?" Riku paused.

Sora thought for a moment, "Hmmmm…I'm not sure. I guess we'll have to go to a couple of places before we can find them."

"Sora…There are twenty-five worlds," Riku did speak the truth, "It might take a while."

"Well, let's get started."

Author's note: Where are Donald and Goofy? (Caution: New world ahead)

Find out in Chap. 14: The Small Cottage.


	14. The Small Cottage

Author's note: Sorry this chapter took so long to get posted. With Christmas and everything, I just didn't have much time. (Also, sorry about the last chapter being so confusing. Events later on will clear it up, possibly.)

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 14 The Small Cottage**

The ship had traveled for a while and there was no sign of a world being nearby.

"The map doesn't show any place for days!" Sora was frusterated.

"But, how did we get to China World so fast?" wondered Kairi.

"Well, we came from Hollow Bastion, and that's far from anywhere," reminded Riku.

"Anywhere but China World. I don't even know if…..was it on the map before we crashed, Sora?"

"No…that means there must be uncharted worlds everywhere. We must be on the other side of the universe by now," Sora was really confused, "We're definitely lost!"

"But, if there are many worlds not even on a map yet, we will find somewhere eventually," Riku pointed out, "…Won't we?"

"Most likely. But, right now, I doubt we'll find somewhere anytime soon."

"Are you sure about that?" Kairi gestured toward a planet only minutes away.

"I guess not."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They landed in a moon-lit forest with a grand white palace on the horizon.

"This place isn't so bad…" said Kairi.

Sora decided, "C'mon, let's go."

They were on their way, passing tree after tree. Soon, they came upon a small cottage with smoke coming out of the chimney.

"I wonder who lives there," Kairi thought it was awfully tiny.

Riku said, "We should check it out."

Sora knocked on the four-foot high door, and after a moment asked, "Is anyone there?" He slowly turned the doorknob and peeked in, "Hello?"

The door opened, and there stood one of the seven princesses of heart.

"Snow White?" Sora didn't expect to see her, "You live here?"

"Well, actually…no. I have no idea who lives here. I was just lost and I thought I would look around…and I'm getting tired."

"How could you get lost? Don't you live at the castle?"

"The queen…It seems as though she's out to get me…..I'm…kind of on the run from her."

"How awful," thought Kairi.

"Hey, there's someone headed this way," Riku warned.

Whoever it was saw that the door was opened and rushed into the house. Seven dwarfs stood in the entry.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in our cottage?" one of them asked. The others nodded.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm a little lost, and I was…" Snow White started.

"Don't worry about it. Our house is your house," one named Doc told her.

"Where'd you others come from?" Sleepy asked as he yawned.

"Um…we're from Destiny Islands…..in another world," Kairi decided to say.

"Ooooooh…" the dwarfs were in awe.

"That's pretty a…a…achoo!!!" Sneezy sneezed, "…amazing."

Dopey nodded excitedly.

"Who cares! They were trespassing! They should leave!" Grumpy snapped.

"Now, Grumpy…They're our guests. You shouldn't get mad for no reason," Happy pointed out.

"Humph!" Grumpy crossed his arms.

"You have a nice little home," Snow White complimented.

"Aw, shucks. It's nothing special," Bashful blushed.

"Why are you lost, anyway?" Doc wondered.

"I'm running from the queen."

"The queen!" they shouted and all ran to hide…Under tables, behind chairs, or in cupboards.

"No, no. Don't worry. She probably won't find me. I mean, she doesn't know I'm here."

The dwarfs breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let me introduce us," Happy said after he came out from under a couch cushion, "I'm Happy, and this is Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful, Sleepy, and…Dopey. He doesn't talk."

Dopey smiled.

"How about you all sleep in our beds upstairs?" Doc suggested, "Don't worry, we'll manage down here."

Author's note: I know that chapter was short and boring, but it's just the events that lead up to the "good" part in the next chapter. You won't be waiting long till it's posted, I promise.


	15. A Dream, a Heartless, and a Queen

Author's note: Sorry it took longer to get the next chapter then I said. I was more busy than I thought I would be.

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 15 A Dream, a Heartless, and a Queen**

In the morning, Sora woke up, finding that no one else was in the room.

"Maybe they are all downstairs," he figured.

As Sora walked down the steps, he heard a scream coming from outside. After he ran down the rest of the flight, nobody was downstairs either.

"This is getting weird. Where'd they go?"

Soon, Sora heard the scream again. This time he recognized the voice.

"Oh, no! Kairi!"

He ran out of the house and saw a huge cliff to his right. Someone was holding Kairi over the edge, then let go. Flames engulfed the forest as she fell.

"No…Kairi, Kairi!" Sora cried.

"Sora!" a voice said, "C'mon, you lazy bum, get up!"

Kairi was shaking Sora, trying to wake him.

"What?" Sora opened his eyes, "Kairi, what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ohhhh…never mind."

"Sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, it was…just a dream."

When everyone came downstairs, all of the dwarfs were still asleep.

"I know what I can do," Snow White had an idea, "I'll surprise them be picking some berries," she grabbed a basket and was on her way.

"So, did everybody get a good night's sleep?" Riku pondered.

Sora sighed but didn't say a word.

"Obviously you didn't."

Kairi wondered, "Tell us about your dream, Sora."

"I'd rather not…"

Just then, Snow White yelled to them, "Come here quick!"

When they got outside, Snow White pointed to an area of the forest where smoke was rising, "It's awful."

"Oh, no…" Sora thought a moment, "Our ship is over there!" He started to run toward the smoke. Riku and Kairi followed.

As they were running, they heard a noise behind them and stopped in their tracks. When they turned around, they found out that they were being chased by a flying red heartless.

"Run!" Riku exclaimed.

All of them sprinted as fast as they could. The figure swooped down and with its claws, picked up Kairi by the shoulders lifting her higher into the air. She screamed.

"Kairi!" Sora ran in her direction.

"Sora!" she cried as she was carried away.

"We have to save her! C'mon, Riku!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Soon, Riku and Sora came to a clearing in the forest. Kairi and the heartless were nowhere in sight.

"We lost them!" Riku said in frustration.

Then a peculiar voice spoke, "Are you looking for her?"

A tall, strict woman with a crown on her head stood in front of them. She held Kairi tightly in one arm.

"It must be the queen…" Riku thought.

"Let Kairi go!" commanded Sora.

"I can't do that…" the queen smiled, I know where Snow White is hiding."

Sora and Riku pulled out their weapons.

"How do you?" Riku asked.

"That's my little secret…" the queen chuckled, "…and if you tell Snow White I know where she is…" she held a dagger to Kairi's neck.

"Sora, Riku!" Kairi pleaded.

Sora walked closer.

"Don't come any closer…" the queen tightened her grip, and the blade now touched Kairi's throat.

"Sora…please…" Kairi was crying.

Sora and Riku dropped their weapons.

"Don't tell Snow White, or you'll never see this girl again," and with that, the queen and Kairi vanished.

"Kairi!" Sora cried. He fell to his knees, "Kairi…" he felt he was powerless to do anything, "No….." a tear rolled down his cheek.

Author's note: There's another cliffhanger ending for ya. I'm writing the next chapter now, so it'll be up soon. (yes, I'll have it sooner then last time)


	16. Fire and Rain

Author's note: Here it is, prompt and ready like I said it would be. Enjoy! (If you don't know already, different scenes in a chapter are marked by a line of x's)

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 16 Fire and Rain**

Snow White came running to where Sora and Riku were, "What happened? I heard someone screaming."

Sora stood up and turned his head, the tears streaking down his face.

"Well," Riku began, "Kairi was taken by a heartless, and we…" he was going to finish, but then he turned to look at Sora. Sora looked Riku straight in the eye, tears still falling. Riku remembered what would happen and couldn't believe he had almost blabbed it out, "…we don't think we'll ever see her again."

"That's terrible…"

Sora didn't know what to do. If he didn't tell, Snow White would be taken by the queen. But if he did, something horrible would happen to Kairi. He was too worried to think about what would happen to the gummi ship, so they went back to the cottage.

The dwarfs were standing outside, wondering where everybody had gone.

"Where were you?" asked Happy.

"And where's that one pretty girl?" Bashful wondered.

"A heartless took her…" Sora said.

"What's that?" Doc was puzzled.

"Who cares!" barked Grumpy.

"Grumpy, stop that!"

"He's right, just…forget about it….." Sora trudged up the stairs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sora and Riku sat on the beds upstairs with the door to the room closed.

"Sora, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know…"

"What do you think would be the best choice?"

"Look, we can't tell Snow White the queen knows where she is, or something will happen to Kairi…"

"The queen knows I'm here?" Snow White asked after she opened the door. She had secretly been listening.

"Ummm…" Riku knew this was not good.

"Well, is it true?"

Sora looked at her and knew what he had to say, "…Yes, it's true…" tears formed in his eyes again, knowing what he just did.

Outside the thunder roared, lightning striked, and the forest began to catch flame. Sora ran out of the house and saw the cliff from his dream. The queen stood there, holding Kairi by the arm. She looked at Sora with a cold stare. Kairi screamed in terror.

"I warned you!" the queen said, and with that, she let go. Kairi fell.

"Kairi!!!" Sora yelled as he ran trying to save her, but the flames from the trees surrounded him. As the fire closed in, he turned all of the flames into ice with his blizzard attack. Tears stung his eyes as he broke through the ice bit by bit. As soon as he was finished, the air was filled with a thick, dense smoke from the fire, "Kairi!" He ran in the cliff's direction, then it started to rain. The smoke cleared, and Sora was surprised to see that Riku had caught Kairi in the nick of time.

"Fools!" cried the queen, "You dare to mess with me?!?" She took a poisonous potion from her pocket and was prepared to throw it on the ground. But then, a lightning strike from the sky struck the edge of the cliff, making her loose her balance and fall. When she hit the ground, a puff of smoke rose from the earth. She was defeated.

"Kairi, I'm so glad you're all right!" exclaimed Sora as they embraced, "I thought I lost you…"

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. Thanks for catching me, Riku. You

saved my life!"

"No problem. What are friends for?"

"We should probably go back to the ship. Donald and Goofy are still missing," Sora reminded them.

They all waved goodbye as they headed to the forest to find the gummi, which miraculously was still unsinged after the fire.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the gummi ship, Sora carefully examined the letter again.

"Where to next?" Kairi asked.

Suddenly, a heartless appeared in the ship, and Riku yelled to them, "Sora! Kairi! Come here quick!" When they cane, the creature spoke.

"Don't hurt me! I have some important news!" it said.

"Like what?" Riku pointed his sword at it.

"No! Don't! I know where your friends are!"

They looked at him in anticipation.

"Well, tell us!" Sora commanded.

"At Hollow Bastion…" then it disappeared.

"Guys," Sora said, "I think we owe Maleficant a little visit….."

Author's note: Hope you liked it. Hollow Bastion is next on the list!!! (Also, Maleficant returns!)


	17. Return to Hollow Bastion

Author's note: Thanks for all of your reviews! I greatly appreciate them!!! (especially **review lord**: thanks for taking your time to add your comments! U rock!)

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 17 Return to Hollow Bastion**

When they reached the castle, Sora pushed the doors open, revealing a thick, black smoke.

"Do we have to come here again?" Kairi asked.

"Yep…" said Sora.

"…I was afraid of that."

Riku laughed, "What's the matter, Kairi? Scared?"

"No! Of course not. It's just smoke…and spooky noises…and…"

"Stop faking. You _are_ scared."

"Just leave her alone, Riku. She has a right to be frightened if she wants to. Hollow Bastion _is_ kinda a spooky place, you know," Sora admitted.

"Oh, great! Am I the only one fearless here?" Riku complained.

"Hey, if you can remember, I _have_ beaten Maleficant before…..But, somehow…I don't know…she came back."

"C'mon, guys. Let's get this over with…if we can," Kairi had her doubts. Riku laughed again.

So, they moved on their way down the hall and then walked down a long flight of stairs. They soon came upon an opening. When they peeked inside, groups of heartless stood guarding the prison gates.

"This isn't going to be easy," Kairi told them.

"There's only, like, 80 of them…" Sora was pretty confident.

"We can take them…I know _I_ can," said Riku.

"Riku, stop being a showoff!!! Let's go!"

The heartless didn't notice them sneak in, and they attacked.

"I'll take the ones on the left! Sora, you and Kairi take the ones on the right!"

"Ok!" Sora grabbed his keyblade and swung it at the nearest heartless. All of them came after him and Kairi.

"Take that!" Kairi destroyed three of them in one shot, _This electric whip sure comes in handy._

"This is too easy," Riku only used one hand. He yawned, "Don't you think they should make this more challenging?"

"That's easy for you to say!" Kairi shouted back.

All of a sudden, the heartless had disappeared.

"Where'd they go?" she wondered.

The earth beneath them began to shake.

"This can't be good!" Sora thought.

"Let's get out of here, and fast!" exclaimed Riku.

"But, what about Goofy and Donald? They're still locked up down here!"

"Who cares! We need to leave!"

Riku and Kairi started heading up the stairs to the highest tower.

Sora was going to follow then, but refused, "I have to go help them!" he ran to the dungeon.

"Sora, no!" Riku yelled when he turned around.

Kairi cried, "Come back, Sora!"

Sora didn't listen and kept running. He reached Donald and Goofy's cell.

"I'm glad you guys are OK!"

"Hurry up and get us out of here!" Donald shrieked.

"Yeah, we don't want to get caught in the middle of this earthquake!" Goofy reminded them.

Sora thought for a moment, then used Firaga. The jail bars began to melt.

"Nice goin'!" Goofy congratulated.

The ground rumbled intensely.

"Run!" exclaimed Donald.

Sora spoke, "We need to go catch up with Riku and Kairi!"

They ran as fast as they could toward the exit, with pieces of the ceiling falling behind them.

"Hurry up guys!"

"We're trying!" Donald told Sora.

"We can't run any faster!...WHOA!" Goofy stopped talking.

Sora turned around. They were nowhere in sight, "Where are you? Goofy! Donald!" Sora heard something above him. When he looked up, a hug piece of concrete was about to fall and smash him. Sora dodged out of the way seconds before it hit the ground, "That was close…Huh?" For some odd reason, everything was normal again, "That's strange. It looks like there was no earthquake at all. How could that happen?…..Maleficant."

_Somewhere underground…_

"Donald, are you okay?" pondered Goofy.

"Oh…my head hurts…"

"Looks like we fell into a trap door."

"Where's Sora?"

"He still must be up there. I hope he's all right."

"Oh, I'm sure he's just fine…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Where could he be?" Kairi was worried.

"I don't know. Maybe…" Riku knew Sora would be okay, "He'll make it. I'm positive."

"I sure hope you're right…We should go back down there, though."

"Hmmm…the ground's not shaking anymore. All right. Let's go…" Riku thought he heard something.

"What is it?"

"Nothing…"

Kairi gasped, "Riku…don't move…"

"Why not?.....Whoa!" Something had grabbed onto his leg.

"It's trying to pull you though!"

"Through what?!?"

"The floor!"

The floor had started to dissolve, and Riku was being pulled under.

Kairi yelled, "Grab my hand!"

She pulled with all her might. Another slimy arm grabbed Riku's other leg.

"They're too strong!" he admitted.

Both Riku and Kairi were soon pulled under.

Author's note: So, what do you think? Please keep up the reviewing! Next chapter: **Fight the Good Fight**


	18. Fight the Good Fight

Author's note: Here it is, one of the (hopefully) last chapters. I think I'll have about 20 of them when I'm done.

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 18 Fight the Good Fight**

"Kairi! Riku!" Sora had been looking everywhere for them, "Donald! Goofy! This isn't funny!"

He walked into a large, brightly-lit room.

"Hello? Is anybody here?"

Behind Sora, two big heartless came out of the floor. They attacked, knocking him to the ground.

_Oh, no! _Sora was startled. They were about to strike again, but they were blocked by Sora's keyblade. He got up and used Thundaga. **(A/N: Is that how it's spelled?) **The heartless weren't affected.

_How could that be? _Sora used both Firaga and Blizzaga **(A/N: ???)**. But again, nothing happened. He used his regular attack over and over, but very little damage was done. _Who are these guys?_

Sora was struck again, and all hope seemed lost.

_Nothing will work! _The heartless were overpowering him…then he thought of something…_Unless_...He had never attempted it before…..

_Here it goes…_Sora combined all of his attacks and swung at the creatures violently. They were no match for him anymore and were destroyed.

"Thank goodness that's over!" Sora said relieved.

"Oh, is it?" a mysterious voice said.

More of the same heartless beings were surrounding him. Sora was trapped.

"You may have won the battle, but the war has just begun. Now we'll see who defeats who…"

"Maleficant…It's you isn't it?"

She soon appeared, "You are no match for me this time. Your time is about to run out, and you'll never see any of your friends again."

"Where are they? What have you done to them!"

"See for yourself," Maleficant pointed to a corner, revealing Riku and Kairi…frozen in solid ice.

"No…how could you?"

"They will be turned into heartless very shortly…"

"Not if I can help it!"

"_You_?...You actually think you can destroy me? Foolish boy," she laughed.

"I'd take you on anyday!"

"Have it your way…" she took out her staff and pointed it at him. A green glow flew out, but Sora got out of the way.

"You're pretty fast, but not fast enough."

Sora used Thundaga, and she chuckled.

"You know none of your attacks will work this time," she struck again, but Sora avoided it. He ran by where Kairi and Riku were and struck the ice with fire.

"I'll get you guys out!"

"Stop!"

Sora was attacked again, and this time Maleficant had a perfect shot. Half of Sora's health was gone.

"Uh, what happened?" Kairi asked.

"Where are we?" Riku pondered.

"Oh, no!" Kairi exclaimed, "Sora!"

"We need to help him," Riku got his sword free and started chipping away at the rest of the ice.

"Face it…you can't defeat me," Maleficant told Sora, "One more strike, and you're mine."

"No…I can't…" Sora slowly stood up.

"You're still willing to fight? That takes a lot of guts."

"You're…gonna pay…for what you've done to my friends…"

"Really? We'll find out."

Sora knew he couldn't give up. He had to fight. He used his spells combined again, and Maleficant was shocked.

"How dare you! I'll give you a piece of your own medicine!!!" She used her most powerful attack, hitting Sora with a crushing blow to the head. He fell to the ground, and he couldn't move. One HP was all of the health he had left.

"Heartless!" Maleficant ordered, "Finish him off! And, bring me…his heart."

The heartless stepped closer. Sora couldn't get up, and he couldn't reach his keyblade, "No…Kairi….."

As the heartless were about to attack, Riku began to strike them over and over. He had broken free out of the ice. Soon, the heartless were destroyed. Riku gave Sora a potion he had saved. Soon, Sora was ready to fight again.

"Now what, Maleficant? It's two to one," said Riku.

"Riku, don't get too overconfident," Sora told him.

"Don't sweat it. We'll beat her."

"Don't be so sure…" Maleficant reached out her hand, and Riku's sword started glowing again.

"Oh, no…" Riku knew this wasn't good. It turned into the evil powered keyblade. Riku couldn't move it, "What's…going on?"

"I now have control over you," Maleficant laughed, " You do everything I want." With that she made him swing at Sora, but Sora blocked. Their blades pushed against each other.

"I don't mean to do this…I can't overcome it."

"I know, Riku," Sora pushed him back, dodged away, and struck Maleficant with all of his attacks again.

"That's it!" Maleficant was furious. She made Riku strike and she attacked at the same time.

Sora fell, but got back up. Maleficant did the same thing again, and Sora struck back with his attacks. Maleficant's eyes raged with fury. She made Riku attack with his keyblade when Sora didn't expect it, but Sora still got up afterwards, ready for another attack.

Maleficant screamed, "You have fought me for the last time!"

Riku swung his keyblade, and a blue flash flew out at Sora, who wasn't quick enough to resist it.

"Sora!" Kairi cried.

"Sora fell on his knees, grasping his heart, "You'll…never get away with this…"

Maleficant just smiled, then made Riku hit Sora again. An immense pain filled Sora as he fell flat on his back.

"Sora, forgive me," Riku pleaded. He raised his blade to strike.

Sora barely spoke through the pain, "Tell Kairi…I…..love her…"

Author's note: So…what'd you think? Pretty good chap., huh? Don't worry, the next ones will be just as good. (I can't wait!)


	19. Anything for Love

Author's note: Here's my second to last chapter! (I'm sooooo happy that I'm almost done with my entire story!!!)

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 19 Anything for Love**

As the blade was coming down, something knocked it from Riku's hands. Maleficant gasped.

"Goofy! Donald!" exclaimed Kairi.

"You thought you could capture us with a trap door, huh?" laughed Goofy.

Donald agreed, "Yeah, Goofy had some rope, and we just had to climb out."

All of Kairi's ice had melted, so she came to join the fight. Riku's blade turned back into his sword.

They all attacked at once, and Maleficant threw her every move at them. But, it wasn't enough, and she couldn't overpower them. As she began to fade away, she warned, "Ansem will defeat you1" She shriveled into nothingness and smoke and flame rose from the earth.

Kairi ran to Sora, the others following.

"Sora, are you all right?" she pondered.

"I…I think so…" he tried getting up, but the pain was too great. Kairi helped him stand.

Riku gave him his keyblade, "You ready for Ansem?"

"I sure hope so…" Sora worried.

_On the gummi ship, on the way to The End of the World….._

"Are you sure you can fight Ansem, after what Maleficant did to you?" Kairi asked Sora.

"Kairi, don't worry…"

"Don't worry?!? If he is as powerful as you say he is, we don't have a chance!"

"Kairi….." he held her hands, "We can do it. We just have to believe in ourselves…"

Just then, the ship jolted.

"Heartless!" Riku shouted to them.

The ship shook violently, and Sora bumped his head on something. He fell into unconsciousness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sora woke up, his head swelling with pain, "Uhhh…what happened?" A heartless held his arms behind his back.

"Our ship…and us, too…were captured," Donald replied.

"Sora…..Ansem is coming here…" Kairi shivered at the thought.

"They took all our weapons," said Riku.

Goofy was disappointed, "…and our ship is wrecked…"

They waited…twenty minutes past and everyone became nervous. Soon, Ansem entered. The heartless pushed them forward, and Ansem spoke.

"Ahhhhh…they're here…heartless, leave," he commanded. He paced back and forth, "So you thought you could defeat me? Well, keyblade master, you thought wrong. You can't destroy me! I am invincible!"

He started walking in the opposite direction, but turned and threw their weapons in front of them.

"Go ahead," he said, "Take them…" his face was stern and he didn't say a word.

Then, Kairi realized that they hadn't taken her whip. It was still in her possession. Ansem stepped closer, and she wrapped her whip around his wrist and pulled tighter, "Now!"

Everybody grabbed what they needed and Kairi loosened her grip.

Ansem crossed his arms, "You still haven't learned anything, have you?" he looked at Sora, "There is no light in any heart. Darkness grows and takes a hold of everyone…"

"That's a lie!" Sora cried.

"Then you must face the consequences!"

A smoke rose behind Ansem, and a heartless ten times his size stood ready.

Kairi was now more uncertain, but said, "C'mon, we can do this…believe in yourselves," she looked at Sora.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Let's do it."

Riku, Donald, and Goofy attacked first, trying to strike Ansem. But, everytime they were blocked by the heartless, and their efforts were futile.

Then, Kairi and Sora joined in. Sora attacked; the heartless' hand block his keyblade. Soon, Kairi electricuted the hand, drawing it away, "Now's your chance!"

Sora used his combined attack, but Ansem was barely affected, _He's grown more powerful…_ "Everyone, help!"

The others all attacked this time, and Ansem was struck hard…"Heartless, attack!!!"

The heartless closed his hand into a fist, and when in opened, fire spread. He threw it at his enemies, forcing them to fall. But, they all got back up, hitting Ansem twice as hard. A light grew in Ansem's hand, and he threw it with all his might, knocking everybody but Kairi down. The heartless faced her, his fire and lightning ready for attack. He swung…..(**A/N: Ooooooh! What's going to happen next???)**

Sora looked up, "No!" He ran to Kairi's rescue, and stood in front of her. He used his most powerful blizzard attack…..

…..but, he didn't succeed…..

The blazing fire flew closer and struck Sora with a pain he had never experienced before. Fire burned within his body, and he fell to the ground.

"Sora!" Kairi shouted. She turned to the heartless, her heart filled with anger. She threw her whip at it as hard as she could, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke, to everyone's surprise. Ansem cried out in frustration.

"Sora!!!" Kairi bent down, "Sora…Sora, talk to me!" a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Kairi…it's over…" Sora spoke silently.

"No! No, it's not!" moisture trickled down her face.

"It's no use. I'm…fading…"

"Please, Sora…..don't die…"

"Kai…I must go…it's…my time….." his breaths were short, "You must…let me go…" he couldn't breathe.

"You can't leave me, Sora!"

"Kairi…I….." his last words were spoken, and he died in her arms.

Kairi broke down in tears, "…You can't leave…" she held Sora close and wept uncontrollably, "…..I love you…"

Author's note: Sad, huh? I even cried myself, writing it.Don't panic, though! There's still one chapter left (tee, hee).....The last chapter might take a while to get up, though, because my weekend is really busy. (sorry to leave you in suspense)


	20. Unexpected Endings

Author's note: FINALLY…..the last chapter is UP!!! Thanks for being patient. Trust me, I wanted to type it up sooner, but I was too busy with "life" (you all know how that can be). Yes, **reviewlord**, it would be a good idea to end it at the last chapter, but then how could I write my sequel? (I've already started it)

**Kingdom Hearts: Return of the Heartless**

**Chap. 20 Unexpected Endings**

"I will return, and you will pay!" Ansem warned. Then, he vanished.

"Sora, Kairi! Are you guys ok?" asked Riku when Goofy, Donald, and him came over. He saw Kairi kneeling down, her eyes full of tears.

"He's…" she started.

"Oh, no…"

"…he's gone….."

"This…this can't be happening."

Donald and Goofy were distraught, and everyone began to cry.

Suddenly, Riku heard a noise behind him and turned around. A heartless stood there shivering. Riku walked over.

"What do you want?" he questioned.

The heartless looked up, "You…destroyed the ultimate heartless. All others are dying…and I am fading with them. Would you like me to help you…one last…time?"

Riku realized it was the shadow heartless that had appeared on the ship, "Sure, sure…if you can. I doubt it will ease our sorrow."

"It…may yet," it handed Riku something, "Here….." it shrunk into a boiling, black puddle of darkness.

Riku opened his hand. He held a tube with some solution in it. A note was attached to it.

"What's this?" he took it off…

It read:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonic Solution / HP reviver: One use only

_I hope this helps your situation. __-Anonymous_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Riku couldn't believe his eyes. Maybe there was hope.

"Hey, guys…" he went over to them, "Give Sora this," he held his hand out.

Donald grabbed it and read the piece of paper, "It can't be…Kairi, give this to him."

"What?" she was confused.

"Just do it!"

Kairi did as she was told, and everybody stood around, waiting patiently.

"Does it work?" pondered Goofy

Kairi bent down, "Sora…can you hear me?"

Seconds later, Sora began breathing again. Kairi smiled.

Sora opened his eyes, "…Kairi?"

"Sora! You're all right!!!" she leaned down, giving Sora a kiss. Then she sat up, surprised she had done that. Sora just smiled.

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Sora, Kairi, and Riku were returned home on the gummi ship. They waved goodbye as Goofy and Donald flew away.

"It's great to be back," thought Riku.

"Yeah…" Sora looked at the sunset, "I think I'm going home…"

"Me, too," Riku and him walked away. Kairi sat on the dock. Sora looked behind him, seeing her there. He went over and stood behind her.

"What's the matter, Kairi?"

"Oh…nothing," she lied.

Sora sat down beside her, "C'mon, something must be bothering you."

Kairi faced him, "Sora, what if Ansem comes back?...Everything will happen all over again…" she was scared.

"Don't worry…If anything does happen, I'll be there for you."

Kairi started crying. Sora lifted her head.

"Kairi…"

She finally looked up, still crying.

"…..I love you…"

Kairi was a little surprised to hear him say that, "Really?"

Sora looked into her eyes, "With all my heart…"

"Sora…I-"

She was cut off when Sora gave her a long, passionate kiss.

Afterwards, Kairi spoke, "Sora…I love you, too….."

They both walked toward the beach, hand in hand. **(A/N: Awwww, so cute!)**

Author's note: There you go. I hope you guys enjoyed my story. A **special** **thanks **to all of you who reviewed: **yuffiegal23**, **Link Daduke**, **reviewlord**, and all the two **_anonymous's_**. I am already starting to write a sequel called Adventure of Dreams, and I'll start posting it when I'm ready. Thank you again, and I'll see ya later!!!

Anime17


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